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The Man Senator Isaiah BalatSenator Isaiah Chawai Balat is the Special Adviser to the President for Special Duties (Office of the Vice President). A position he held since June 2010, Senator Balat was re-appointed and sworn into this position for a second term by President Jonathan on 7th July, 2011,
Senator Balat was born at Gora in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State on 23rd October, 1952. After his primary and post-primary education, he attended a sandwich programme in Marketing at the Kaduna Polytechnic between 1976 and 1978.
For his executive education, Senator Isaiah Balat attended the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) of the Harvard Business School in Boston, USA in 1991. Senator Balat undertook post-graduate courses in Petroleum Management at St. Clement’s University in Prospect and at the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Oxford, United Kingdom between 1996 and 1998.
Senator Balat worked for British Petroleum (BP) for several years and rose to management level before he left in 1978 to set up his own private oil and gas services company, Gora Nigeria Limited, of which he was the Chairman,
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Senator Balat (left) with President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, SGF,Anyim Pius Anyim and other new special advisers
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Chief Executive Officer. While in Business, Senator Balat further established the CB Finance Group, a holding company with interests in oil and gas services, banking, insurance and agro-allied industries.
Senator Balat has held several top management appointments and positions in the private and public sectors including:
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Member of the Kaduna State Urban Development Board (1979 - 1985).
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Member, Plateau State Committee on Revenue Sources (1980 - 1982).
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Pioneer Chairman, Katsina Steel Rolling Mill (1980 - 1983).
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Member of Council, Industrial Training Fund (ITF) 1987 - 1994.
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Chairman, Kaduna State Distribution Agency (1987 - 1991).
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Chairman, Kaduna State Industrial and Finance Company (1994 - 1998).
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Member, Board of Nigerian Coal Corporation (1991 - 1994).
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President, Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (1987 - 1991). During this tenure Senator Balat initiated and commenced the construction of the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex.
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Vice-President, Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (1985 - 1987.
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Chairman of the Branch Council (Kaduna/Kano Floors) and a Member of the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (1993 - 1996).
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Non-Executive Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc (1996 - 1999).
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The Balats
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In 1999 Senator Balat was appointed a Minister of the Federal Republic of, Nigeria with the portfolio of Minister of State for Works and Housing, a position he held up to 2000. In 2003 he was elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Kaduna South Senatorial District of Kaduna State.
In the political arena, Senator Isaiah Balat was the Kaduna State Chairman of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) during the second Republic. In this capacity, he led the coalition that ensured the election of Alhaji Balarabe Musa as the first civilian governor of the State. |
In 1998/99, twenty years later, Senator Isaiah Balat became the Kaduna State Coordinator of the Obasanjo Campaign Organisations, where the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate won 1.2 million votes, the second highest recorded amongst the states during the 1999 elections.
Senator Isaiah Balat is a family man, married and blessed with five children.
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Senator Balat was the Kaduna State Chairman of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) during the second Republic. In this capacity, he led the coalition that ensured the election of Alhaji Balarabe Musa as the first civilian governor of the State. In 1998/99, twenty years later, Senator Balat became the Kaduna State Coordinator of the Obasanjo Campaign Organisations...
